The news release announcing the new coalition notes that a poll conducted this summer by the Public Policy Institute of California found most ethnic state residents more likely than whites to be concerned about climate change. Specifically, while about half of California adults and likely voters say the federal government is not doing enough to address global warming; Latinos (61 percent) are the most likely to hold this view, followed by Asians (51 percent), whites (48 percent), and blacks (47 percent).

“Proposition 23 will hurt low-income communities and people of color first and worst,” Kim said in the release. “This Dirty Energy Proposition will make air pollution worse and jobs more scarce, especially in communities already burdened by too much pollution and poverty.”

“Low-income communities are facing epidemics of asthma and lung disease due to air pollution, and Prop. 23 will keep it that way,” said Strela Cervas, co-coordinator of the California Environmental Justice Alliance. “Contrary to the lies being peddled by the oil companies, Prop. 23 would kill jobs, not save them.”

Communities United says it’ll mount “an aggressive, grassroots campaign statewide to educate voters of color about the Dirty Energy Prop,” with statewide days of action, the naming of the campaign’s co-chairs and The Clean Energy Tour, “a statewide music tour bringing together the arts, activism and education on college campuses to mobilize the youth vote.”

Us (Deserving)Poor folks is mighty glad that we got nice college boys to do da heavy mental liftin’ for us. We be grateful!

John W

Don’t know how the vote will go on this, but methinks the Prop. 23 advocates over-reached by positioning this as just a temporary pause until the economy mends but setting benchmarks that will effectively make it permanent. Bad, bad.

Brian Maddock

We have to consider now that company’s have equal rights to people and political campaigns do not need to disclose funding. The movement behind this proposition will try to claim grassroots, but we need to form coalitions against this propostion and expose the truth to corporate greed.